Disclaimer: This story is a branch off of one called "Tight Stitches" by the marvelous Hoehomi-Chan and I do not own that original story, nor do I wish to stake claims on her wonderful story. I have permission from the author to write this and I am very excited to show you all the past and now present of Crazy Redd, the brokenhearted, the misunderstood... He has a past. Read it, and weep... But it would help if you read "Tight Stitches" first.

Chapter one

It was the last straw. She rejected him. After everything he had done for her, she just rejected him. He would have given her anything and everything, his home, his money, his heart... His entire life.

But Sable Able was having none of it.

He had found the pretty hedgehog brokenhearted and pregnant, wandering the streets of the city, cruelly rejected by the father of her unborn twins and her own sister. She had run away, with nowhere to go. And that's how Redd found her, ready to burst into tears and give up.

Out of the goodness of his heart he had taken her in, given her a job and a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear... He had sacrificed so much for her! And she had repaid him with kindness, and for the first time in ages the hardened heart of Crazy Redd had felt love and happiness.

He gave her his heart.

But it was all for nothing. Because once he had proposed to her, she had rejected him; she was still in love with HIM. It didn't help that Redd had lied to her, to everyone, about him; he had enveloped the father of Sable Able's children in scandal, scandal that broke her weary heart. And yet after all of the pain, she still loved him...

The raccoon... How Redd hated him. But this was not the first time Tom Nook had ruined Redd's chances at happiness. No, Redd had been through all of this before... Under slightly different circumstances, of course...

"Last stop, Silver Pines," called out Kapp'n from the front of the bus. "Hey, fox, isn't this your stop?" Redd shook himself out of his reverie and jumped out of his seat.

"Yes. Of course it is. Silver Pine. Haven't been here in ages. This is just CRAAAAZZZYYY."

The old turtle shook his head and the doors swung open.

"Well, welcome back. I don't reckon much has changed since you've been here. Have a good visit." He nodded sleepily as Redd bid him goodbye and stepped off of the bus, then shut the doors and drove off, leaving Redd standing alone at the familiar old bus stop.

"I'm back," whispered the fox, the con-man, the slippery black marketeer. He closed his eyes and breathed in the spicy scent of pine and apple blossoms... Memories of his childhood flooded his brain. The old townsfolk, his family and friends, the familiar buildings... He took a deep breath and pushed it all out of his mind. "Even if the town hasn't changed, I sure have. No one will even recognize me now, I bet. Call me CRAAAAZZZYYY if they d-"

"Ah, Redd. Long time no see! What brings you here to little old Silver Pines?" He was interrupted by a loud screeching voice. The surprised orange fox turned to see the wizened old mayor, an elderly male snowy owl, walking toward him.

"Tullio!" He said, a smile exploding across his face. "It has been a long time. I'm here on a little... Vacation of sorts." A vacation from that place, those memories... Crazy memories... The owl tapped him on the side with his wooden cane.

"Ah, yes- a vacation! Everybody needs a little vacation every once in a while." Redd nodded in agreement. He has no idea. "Well, I hope you enjoy yourself. You'll be glad to know that pretty much everything is the same, with the exception of a few new villagers having moved in and a few of the old ones having moved out. Like Boris, he left a while ago. Oh, and Freya and Wolfgang got married and went out into the world to start their life together."

"Yes, well isn't it CRAAAAZZZYYY, but I see the pair of 'em in the city sometimes. They have a kid now," Redd said, happy that he knew something about his old town. He hadn't kept up with the local gossip. He didn't know who lived in Silver Pines now. He had completely left his past in the past, not wanting anything to do with it.

Until now, when I need to escape something else, he thought bitterly. But Tullio once again interrupted his thoughts with his chatter.

"Is that right? How wonderful," he practically cooed. "You should go around and greet everybody. I know Tess will be pleased to see you!" Redd's blood suddenly ran cold.

Tess.

"She- she- Tess!?" Redd couldn't believe his ears. "She's here? But I thought she-"

"Left?" Tullio smiled knowingly. "She did for a while. But she came home when she couldn't stand being alone anymore." Guilt stabbed Redd's heart. Alone... And I left her like that. His emotions were mixed though; he had never wanted to leave her, it hadn't been his choice! He was forced to leave her! It wasn't my fault, it was-

"Redd?" Again, the mayor's voice snapped him back to reality. "Let the past be the past. Look to the future." Redd blinked, unaware that he was shaking like a chihuahua.

"What future?" He said, bitterness oozing in his voice, "I have no future." Tom Nook has made sure of that. Tullio put a wing around the trembling fox's shoulders.

"Maybe you feel that way because you are so caught up in the past you cannot believe there can be a future." Redd pulled away from the owl's touch and Tullio let his wing drop to his side as he cocked his head. "At least let her know you're back. You owe her that much."

If only you knew just how much I do owe her... Tess.

PLEASE READ THIS NEXT BIT... It will help you understand. :)

I am so sorry for the confusing chapter... Let me just explain some things. Redd grew up in Silver Pines, alongside Tom Nook and his family.

Tom's father and mother (Norris and Tara Nook) own the local store, a small business much less regal than Nookington's- the store is called Nook's Niche. Growing up helping his parents inspired him to one day open up and run his own store, and he did so in the town of Wenton. (Wenton is the main town mentioned in the story "Tight Stitches.")

Tom has two sisters...the older sister is named Tilly, who is the mother of Tommy and Timmy and moved back in with her parents after her husband Mack died.

The younger sister is named Tess, and as is implied, she and Redd have a history... But I won't spoil anything; all this is is a little history to avoid confusion.

Everything in Silver Pines is similar to the set up of every other Animal Crossing town, just with my own spin on things. Like Nook's Niche is run by the two elderly Nooks and their oldest child Tilly. The tailor is run by a cute panda named Coralie and her brother Cross. The museum and coffee shop of Silver Pines are separate; the curator of the museum is a cat named Jasper, and the coffee shop is run by a pretty Yorkshire terrier named Sadie. The post office/ town hall is home to Mayor Tullio, his daughter Angel (she is the night time mail clerk), and and Catrine (the pretty canary who is the day time mail clerk.)

Now that you have a general idea of the town and some of the connections, I hope you look forward to reading more of Seeing Redd! Read and Review please, and if you have any helpful advice or ideas PLEASE give them to me straight! Thanks :)